Taking the Caller Off Hold

Taking the Caller Off Hold

One of the main preoccupations of late of Canada’s telecommunications regulator, the CRTC, has been to ensure that telephone companies cannot easily offer consumers a lower phone price. The federal regulator continues to support regulations that actually “protect” consumers from lower prices.

Thankfully, federal Industry Minister Maxime Bernier is trying to put an end to this type of “protection” by accelerating the pace of local telephone service deregulation and loosening the constraints that prevent Canada’s telephone companies from offering you lower – that’s right, lower – prices.

In response to a request by Industry Canada, AIMS answered a call to provide comment on what’s called the Order Varying Telecom Decision CRTC 2006-15, which is basically the Minister’s method of over-ruling the regulator.

AIMS’ submission argues that the measures are pro-competitive in nature and that unfettered competition will lead to the lowest possible prices and the best possible service offerings for Canadian consumers. Regulation will remain in place for consumers in areas where competitive alternatives do not exist. AIMS submission points out that this is the correct approach: regulation should remain in place to protect customers who are truly vulnerable in the absence of competitive choice, but the government should move quickly and decisively to cease its interference in the marketplace where competition has taken hold.